


It's Natural

by ConceptaDecency



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Cardassia, Scent Marking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2020-06-03 12:56:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19464451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConceptaDecency/pseuds/ConceptaDecency
Summary: "I know you're scent-marking me, Elim.""And if I am? If you recall, you asked me to marry you last night, my dear.""Did I?"The morning after a very modern post-canon Cardassia wedding. Cardassia is changing, Julian and Garak are changing, and yet some things stay the same.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Mr Garak's New Trade](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15504147) by [ConceptaDecency](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConceptaDecency/pseuds/ConceptaDecency). 



> This is a sort of coda to [Mr Garak’s New Trade](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15504147/chapters/35992029), but as its tone is very different, I decided to post it as its own work. 
> 
> I don't think it's necessary to read the first story to understand this one, but you might want to, because there are spoilers for it here!

“Elim,” said Julian. He didn’t lift his head from where it was resting on Garak’s bare chest, which was good, because Garak was enjoying the heady scent of Julian's shampoo (a blend Garak had devised himself for wavy-type human hair, much better than that stuff Julian had been using, which stripped the moisture and left him looking fluffy as a newly-hatched vole), human sweat, Cardassian scent-marking oils, and a certain mysterious, tantalising post-coital smell that seemed unique to the commingling of human and Cardassian body chemistry and that Julian, the filthy creature, called 'freshly fucked'. It sounded good in Federation Standard, at least. So Julian claimed.

“Yes, my dear?” Garak replied, and buried his nose in Julian’s hair for a deep and satisfying inhale.

Julian's chuckle vibrated through Garak's chest scales. 

"I've just had a thought."

"Mmmmhmm?"

"When Kokat was flirting with me..."

"Hmmmph. Trainee Kokat," Garak interrupted dismissively. "Well, I suppose it's understandable. Except for being human, you're a very good mate, on paper." That one of the Cardassian trainee nurses at the hospital had, in the traditional argumentative Cardassian style, been flirting with Julian was a sore point with Garak. Not because he was jealous, not at all. But because it had brought into harsh light the fact that, in his recent fervour to serve Cardassia by employing his latent talent and emerging skills at cutting Federation hair, he'd neglected Julian to the extent that his colleagues at the hospital had thought they’d ended their relationship. 

Julian snorted. "Thanks. So are you, apart from the regrettable fact that you’re an argumentative Cardassian.”

“Standard is such an imperfect language. Are you regretting my argumentativeness in particular, or that all Cardassians are argumentative?” 

“Well, you could hardly have one without the other, could you? Cardassians without arguing, I mean. But why can’t what I said mean both? That’s the beauty of Standard.” 

“‘Beauty’? If you say so, my dear. Far be it for me to quibble. But who are these other Cardassians you’re arguing with? Should I be jealous?” 

“Mmmm,” said Julian thoughtfully. “That’s a good question.”

“Oh?” He was not jealous, of course. But it certainly wasn’t the response he’d expected from the man who, given their conversation the evening before, he supposed he should begin thinking of as his fiancé. Garak rubbed the marking gland on his chin with the palm of his free hand, the one that was not on the end of an arm that was currently wrapped around Julian, and ran his fingers through Julian's hair. "Do tell."

"I know you're scent-marking me, Elim."

"And if I am? If you recall, you asked me to marry you last night, my dear."

"Did I?" 

Garak felt himself stiffen. Surely Julian had meant what he'd said last night? He couldn't have forgotten, could he? "How much did you have to drink, Julian?" he asked, trying to sound light and teasing but not really feeling it. 

"About as much as you did." Which had been quite a lot, actually, although fortunately Julian had given each of them a hypo the night before to stave off the hangover. There were advantages to keeping company with a medical professional. “Don't worry, I remember our conversation. And I still want to marry you. You can relax."

He relaxed. "Well, thank the ancestors’ eternal and loyal constancy for that."

"I just meant that I hadn't thought of it as me _asking_ you to marry me. I didn't exactly get down on one knee." 

Ah, it was something to do with ritual. Garak was familiar enough with human romantic traditions to recognise the reference to the knee. He'd made a thorough study years ago, when he'd first identified one Julian Subatoi Bashir as a desirable partner. Though at the time he'd never imagined he'd put the data on marriage practices to any real use. "Do you not consider us engaged, then?"

"No, I guess I do. It would seem silly not to, considering we both agreed to it." Julian paused. "Although, now that I think about it, _did_ you agree to it? I believe your exact words were 'we can talk about it'." He lifted his head and raised himself on one elbow so that he was, earnestly and with a deep well of concern, looking Garak in the eyes. "Not that you need to give me an answer straight away. Honestly, I was...a little drunk and I don't know why I thought Fabio and Ekta’s wedding was the best time and place to open up the topic. Take your time, Elim!"

Oh, this man! As if there was any question in Garak's mind. All the doubt should be on Julian's side, truly, because Julian was far more than he deserved, although Julian wouldn't like it if he said that. Garak laughed at the absurdity. "It _was_ a wedding, my dear. I can see why the topic might have been on your mind. And I'd never be so foolish as to let a catch like you get away."

Julian beamed. "So you'll marry me?" 

"Of course. It's not every day a housekeeper's son gets an offer of marriage from a doctor, after all. Especially one whose body temperature is 37 degrees Celsius." He wrapped his arms around the warm, smooth body, pulling it back to his own, and drew Julian in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, so fluffy. I got a cavity writing it. But they got distracted before Julian could tell Garak the thought he had about Kokat, and who knows what that thought was? 
> 
> Comments and kudos are very welcome and encouraging!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garak and his new fiancé discuss Cardassian culture old and new, and uncover a misapprehension or two. You never stop learning, hopefully.

"So Cardassians scent-mark their fiancés, I take it?"

Julian's head was once again situated conveniently under Garak's nose, and thanks to their recent exertions he now smelt twice as delectable as before. 

"Something like that." 

"Oh?"

"We used to scent-mark our spouses."

"Used to?"

"But these days it's also very common to scent-mark any serious partner. A fiancé. Or even a serious boyfriend or girlfriend."

"You told me Cardassians don't have boyfriends."

"I had you, didn't I?"

"Yes...Elim, you've been scent-marking me since we got together, haven't you?" Julian's voice was amused resignation. 

“You know where the glands are located, Julian. It's very difficult to avoid scent-marking someone you’re having sex with." It was true. There were several glands in addition to the one under the chin, and they were mostly located near the most erogenous parts of the body. That was rather the point of them, after all. 

“I meant before we started sleeping together.”

“I may have been a little exuberant the first time we kissed."

“Elim, the first time we kissed we had sex fifteen minutes later. I meant before that.”

That was true. Only the constraints of public decency (nice people never ran on a Cardassian street except in the most exceptional of circumstances) had prevented it from being less than fifteen minutes. Though they had been perhaps some of the most delicious fifteen minutes of Garak’s life, weaving through the crowded streets of Cardassia City as quickly as was acceptable, the warmth of Julian pressing into his side as they strode, his leg, his arm, their bodies closer than they had ever been before. The frustration that they couldn’t go to Julian’s place, a mere five minutes across the marketplace, because his roommate was there. The unspoken understanding that as soon as Garak’s door closed behind them a mutual desire years in the making would finally — finally! — be realised. 

Of course he’d scent-marked Julian before then.

“Scent-marking someone before an agreement is reached is simply not done,” he said. 

“I’m not going to argue with your definitions of ‘agreement’ or ‘not done’,” Julian laughed into Garak’s chest. “Or ‘before’. But I realised something when I was thinking about Kokat.”

“Oh? What was that, my dear?” Garak tried to sound casual. 

“Numa was flirting with me.” 

Ah.

“It’s possible. The way you described her behaviour might lead one to draw that conclusion.” Arch-Decurion Numa, the chair of the Offworlder Welcoming Committee, had no doubt been flirting with Julian, though Garak had not seen any reason to point it out at the time. 

“And so was Shosh.”

“Yes, _he_ was,” Garak humphed. There was no point denying that one. Shosh coordinated the local fresh food distribution and thus was in and out of Garak’s home frequently, what with the garden. Almost as frequently as Julian was, even when he and Garak had been Very Good Friends and Nothing Else. Shosh’d certainly been flirting with Julian, and quite flagrantly. It had frankly been a little disrespectful. 

“And Tazai?” 

The teenage neighbour. Well, yes, in an awkward, adolescent awkward way. “That youngster certainly had a crush on you.” Still did, Garak was fairly sure.

“Elim, they _were_ flirting with me and I didn’t realise it. They were so hostile that I thought I was constantly offending them somehow. And when suddenly they all started being friendlier with me, I thought I’d finally cracked Cardassian interpersonal relationships. But it was you, wasn’t it?” 

“Me? I didn’t say anything to them.”

“I didn’t say you’d said anything. You marked me, didn’t you? When we were still figuring out what we were?”

“I saw how much difficulty you were having and took action."

"You marked me and they thought I wasn't available, so they stopped arguing with me.”

" _Were_ you available, Julian?" Garak was loath to answer any question directly, partly out of habit and partly because he enjoyed the give and take of a good conversation with a worthy opponent, especially if that opponent was Julian. But this time his answer wasn’t entirely a dodge. Garak was genuinely curious to know how Julian had felt between that time when he’d arrived on Cardassia and the day they’d finally confirmed their feelings to one another. 

“Good question. Was I, Elim?” Hmmph. Was it was true, what they said on Earth about couples becoming more alike? A year ago Julian would have just answered the question. “If I’d known then what I know now, I might have spent a night or two with Shosh. He’s not bad, you know." 

“If you’re trying to make me jealous, you’re going to have to try harder, my dear,” said Garak. And he wasn’t jealous. So what if Shosh, with his long neck and legs, prominent ridges, beaky nose, and triangular torso, was the embodiment of the Cardassian male ideal? And a bright, compelling conversationalist as well? It hardly mattered. Julian had come to Cardassia because of Garak, after all. Or at least Garak was fairly certain he had. And anyway, he had Julian now.

“But you were jealous, weren’t you? That’s why you marked me.”

“Darling, in case you aren’t aware, you were dreadfully attractive when you arrived on Cardassia. When I saw you were struggling, what was I to do but help a friend out?”

“Pardon me, I _was_ dreadfully attractive? And what am I now, Elim? An old, nearly-married, worn-out husk?” 

"Oh, you still have your charms," said Garak mildly, as if discussing hounds from a favourite racing stable. "I'd say you have a few years before you reach 'worn-out husk' status."

"Thanks, Elim," Julian laughed, and gave Garak a fond pinch on the belly, which made Garak flinch and suck his stomach in, then wrap Julian in what Julian called a bear hug (because Earth children held their toy bears this way?), making sure to pin his arms down so that he couldn't do it again. "But you see, this is what I mean, this 'worn-out husk' business. You tease me and insult me and provoke me. You always have. I know now that you were flirting with me from the start but I didn't then. But even so, I always enjoyed arguing with you. I've never, not once, thought you were seriously angry with me like I did with Kokat and Shosh and the others. And you were the first Cardassian I'd ever met. I'd have thought there would have been more misunderstandings between us.” He paused. “Why weren't there?"

Really, never? Garak was sure he'd misjudged a few times and needled Julian just a little too hard, the time on the Defiant during the war when he'd called Julian a Vulcan for being too cold and statistical being the most obvious example. But perhaps Julian still didn't realise Garak'd also been flirting then? Garak filed the thought away for future discussion. "Well, Julian,” he said instead. “I might have been your first Cardassian, but you were certainly not my first human."

"Wait, what?" Julian half pulled out of the bear hug, but it was not a genuine attempt at escape. With his augmented strength Julian could have easily broken free if he'd really wanted to. "You've had other humans, have you?"

"Oh, my. Many, many humans," said Garak casually, adjusting his hold so Julian was recaptured. "Haven't I ever told you about them, my dear?"

"You have _not_ , Elim," Julian snorted into Garak's chest. "And as we're going to be married I think it's only appropriate that you tell me _everything_."

"Oh? Is full disclosure a human custom?"

"Yes. A very venerable tradition. Not one of your many humans told you about it? Now I'm starting to doubt your story, love." Julian had unbound his left arm somehow and was going in for another chiding pinch.

"Really, Julian. Why would they? I only came close to marrying one or two of them." Before it could tweak his belly again, Garak caught Julian's hand in his own. 

"Oh, well, if it was only one or two I don't know why I'm even concerned." 

"Who could say why you're concerned? I'm sure _I_ don't know how you humans think." Garak brought Julian's hand to his mouth and lightly bit it. 

Julian chuckled. "That's just it, isn't it, though, Elim? You _do_ know how humans think. You were never full-on Cardassian flirting with me, were you? You knew I wouldn't understand. You tempered it a little for human tastes."

"Julian. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to stomach human flirting. I mean,” he switched from Kardasi to Standard, “‘do you have map? Because I keep getting lost in your eyes’? How off-putting. I don’t know how your species perpetuates itself.”

“A map.”

“A map,” Garak repeated, then switched back to Kardasi. “In any case, human flirting seems to consist of nothing more than disingenuous compliments and childish wordplay. It’s quite demeaning, especially to someone with as fine a mind as yours, my dear. It’s no wonder I was able to attract you with my superior Cardassian technique.”

“That cheesy pick-up line isn’t a genuine example of human flirting and you know it. Here, can you let me up? I think I’m getting an imprint of your scales on my face.” 

Garak let Julian free and they shifted to a spooning position, though Garak made sure he was the big spoon, the better to guard against further pinches. 

“Elim,” Julian said when they had settled.

“Yes?”

“About Kokat.”

“Are we still talking about that person?” 

“Well, no. We’re talking about my realisation. People at work thought we’d broken up because they couldn’t smell you on me.” 

"Really, Julian, _smell_?" Technically Julian had used one of the many correct Kardasi terms, but it was rather a crude schoolyard word.

"Well, tell me the correct word, then. And answer my question."

Garak told him the word. It didn’t really translate into Standard. "But you didn't ask a question." 

"Come on, Elim. You know what I meant." Julian checked Garak fondly with his shoulder.

Garak sighed as if the weight of answering was really too much for this time of the day. “That is likely part of the reason they thought that, yes.” He’d also, due to his busy schedule, stopped meeting Julian for lunch at the hospital, and, though Julian denied it, more than likely caused him some emotional distress that some of his colleagues may have interpreted as sadness due to a breakup. 

“And they couldn’t smell you on me because you hadn’t marked me in a while.”

“Yes.” To Garak’s shame. It was considered neglect amongst Cardassians to leave one’s life partner unmarked without a very good reason. And though Julian was not his husband, he was close enough, and the very thought of what he’d done made Garak feel cold inside. Nearly without thinking, he rubbed his chin on Julian’s shoulder to mark him. 

Julian squeezed his hand in acknowledgment, but did not stop his line of reasoning. “And we’d stopped having sex.” 

Garak's stomach clenched. “Yes, my dear. I did deprive you of that, I’m afraid.” It hadn’t been Julian’s decision, that was for certain. This was another form of spousal neglect for Cardassians, and one, Garak was aware, that humans could also feel keenly. If Julian was any example, humans were exceedingly fond of sex. 

“We’ve gone over that, Elim." Julian brought Garak's hand to his lips and kissed it with a tenderness Garak was certain he did not deserve. "And the matter is settled. You were serving Cardassia and you are not to feel bad about that.” Julian’s manner, contemplative and teasing until now, had become firm. “I only brought it up because, well, I hadn’t put it together until now, but my Cardassian colleagues — or anyone, really — can tell if you and I’ve had sex, can’t they?” 

“Not precisely. They can tell if I’ve marked you, but there’s no way for them to know how it occurred.”

“But they could tell we’d stopped having sex when they couldn’t smell you on me at all.”

“They would have had no way of knowing we’d been having sex prior to that.” Garak paused. One never knew with humans. “Unless you told them?” 

“Well, no, that would be weird. But they know we’re together and that I stay over at your place some nights. I can only assume they’d draw the obvious conclusion.” 

“My dear, what’s obvious to you might not be so to them.”

“Oh come on, you’re having me on, Elim. Don’t try to tell me that they think we just...cuddle all night long.” 

“I told you, Julian. Cardassians don’t have boyfriends.” Traditionally.

“But, they know we’re together. They know I stay over at yours. They ask about you. What do they think we are?” 

“Oh, the more modern ones undoubtedly understand the concept of a casual sexual relationship. And before you protest, my dear,” said Garak, familiar as he was with Julian’s pattern of conversation, “any sexual relationship outside of marriage or engagement at the very least will be seen as casual by many. Most, in fact. If it's acknowledged at all. It is a rather radical concept.”

“Hmmmm. So, because we weren't courting in the usual Cardassian way, some people think we’re...good friends?” 

"Something like that, yes."

“Only good friends? Not friends with benefits?” 

Oh, he was amusing. Garak laughed. “No. For the very traditional sort of person of which I speak, that you and I enjoy those types of ‘benefits’ would not even have crossed their minds.”

"So some of my colleagues think you're just my best friend?"

“Clearly more than your best friend." Garak allowed a tone of annoyed indulgence to enter his voice. Julian loved it so much when he was spoken to this way. "More like your platonic life partner. And yes, some of your less worldly colleagues undoubtedly think that of us.” 

"Oh." Garak wished he could see Julian's face. Genuinely puzzled Julian Bashir was a sight to behold, and so Garak attempted to confound Julian regularly, but as they grew more used to each other, and Julian more used to Cardassia, it was becoming harder to do. "But, they be surprised that we're getting married? Wait, does marriage even necessarily mean a sexual relationship on Cardassia?" 

Garak stifled a laugh. Oh, he was amusing. "Yes, for the most part. Just as for your people, it's generally assumed a married Cardassian couple will have sexual relations. And to answer your first question, perhaps a little surprised, but it's not unheard of for couples to change their status."

"So people sometimes live together for years platonically — as life partners — and then get married and start having sex?"

"Yes."

"Don't they find it difficult to live that way?"

"I imagine they enjoy the sex for the most part."

"Smart arse. I mean before they start having sex." 

This was delightful. "I don't know what you mean."

"Elim! You know exactly what I mean. They're clearly attracted to each other if they decide to start a sexual relationship at some point. Don't they have difficulties, ehm, controlling themselves in the years prior if they've already dedicated themselves to each other like that?"

"Is it so difficult? You and I knew each other for years before we embarked on a sexual relationship. We were able to control ourselves." 

"Yes, but we weren't life partners."

"Weren't we?"

"No, we were not." Julian checked Garak gently with his shoulder blade. "Nice try, but you're not going to get me to believe that we were by some Cardassian cultural norm you just made up."

"I would never." Too bad, but he'd had to try. 

"Uh huh, of course you wouldn't. But seriously, do they not have urges? Of course I was attracted to you, but we didn't have that kind of relationship."

"Neither do they.”

"Hmmmmm." 

“Are you so surprised, Julian? You’ve seen these concepts before in books.” A platonic life pair cuddling and talking in bed was an incredibly common trope. One could scarcely have a repetitive saga without at least one such scene per generation. 

“Well, yes, but I thought the silence about sex was just, I don’t know, a cultural taboo. It’s quite common in Earth literature to pretend sex doesn’t exist. Depending on the era. But obviously there's sex happening.”

Well, obviously, given the extent humans were obsessed with sex. The silence on sex in so much of human literature was odd, perhaps, but then cultures often had strange taboos around their strongest drives. Garak sighed at Julian's arrogance in assuming human practices translated to Cardassian. It was a good thing Julian had other qualities to admire. “Julian. It is perfectly normal for a Cardassian couple to abstain from sex and yet still sleep together. And I don't mean that as a euphemism, my dear."

"So my colleagues do think we just cuddle?"

"Some of them. Those less familiar with modern ideas." 'Modern ideas' being the favoured euphemism on Cardassia for notions inspired by contact with off-worlders. 

"Like a young trainee from the hills."

"Like a young trainee from the hills."

"And these types of 'good friends', no euphemism, sleep together? And mark each other? And are a couple?"

"Yes." 

"But they don't have sex."

"No."

"Oh." Julian was uncharacteristically silent for a moment. "Elim, were you...I mean, did I...pressure you in any way? When we started sleeping together? I never meant to impose my values on you..." 

Garak laughed a soft puff of air into the nape of Julian's delicious neck. He wished he could see Julian's face right now. "My dear, really. Haven't I shown you already that I'm quite a willing participant in our sex life? I'm sure I don't know what I have to do to further prove my enthusiasm. If a third session is what you're after this morning, I certainly won't say no, but we do have to get out of bed eventually."

Julian snorted. "Okay, I take your point.”

"And?" Garak ran an inquisitive hand down Julian’s haunch. Despite what he’d just said, neither of them had a pressing need to get out of bed today, for once, and he could think of worse ways to pass the morning than making love to his new fiancé for a third time. 

“So Kokat thought you and I’d broken off our platonic life partnership.” 

Kokat again? Garak was really starting to dislike the name. “Haven’t we spoken enough about your colleagues, Julian?” He nipped Julian chidingly on the neck, where his scales would have been most sensitive were he Cardassian, and quested his hand a little further down Julian's leg. "It's your day off."

“Ow." Julian swatted at Garak's hand. "But Elim, I never did get to tell what I was thinking about Kokat."

"Didn't you? I was sure we'd exhausted the subject." Garak stilled his hand obediently, but hooked a leg over Julian's hip instead, bringing his _ajan_ into very close proximity to Julian's smooth little bottom and giving it a satisfying grind. 

"Do you think Kokat was after marriage or a platonic life partnership?" Julian shifted in Garak's arms so they were again face-to-face. "Or just sex? Are the flirtation styles different?"

Garak resettled his hand on Julian, giving his bottom a firm squeeze. "Trainee Kokat cannot possibly know how much you talk, Julian, or you'd be out of the running for all three." 

Julian grinned wickedly. "Kokat knows exactly how much I talk, Elim. It seems to be an attractive trait to your people."

"If you think speculating about how irresistible your work colleagues find you while your fiancé is doing his best to seduce you is attractive, I despair at your ever understanding my people." Garak pulled Julian's hips closer and began applying his mouth to Julian's left clavicle. 

"If it's so unattractive, why are you trying to seduce me?" Julian, the monstrous brat, managed to keep his voice steady, even though Garak was nibbling on exactly _the_ spot. 

Garak removed his mouth from Julian's collarbone. That'd show him. "Conjugal obligation, nothing more." 

"Oh? Before we’re even married? Do I have conjugal obligations too?" Julian asked, making Garak gasp by running his fingers along the wet seam of his _ajan_. 

"Many,” said Garak. It was difficult to speak, as Julian now had a finger inside of him, and was demonstrating exactly how dexterous a surgeon he really was. “But as it happens there’s a Cardassian tradition of teaching by showing. If you’ll allow me?”

“Please. But as it happens, that’s a human tradition too.” Another of Julian’s fingers joined the first, and fluttered against the inside wall of Garak’s _ajan_. “Shall we just show each other?”

“Please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes a purely self-indulgent sticky-sweet bit of fluff. Hope you liked it! Comments and kudos are always welcome!

**Author's Note:**

> Awww, so fluffy. I got a cavity writing it. But they got distracted before Julian could tell Garak the thought he had about Kokat, and who knows what that thought was? 
> 
> Comments and kudos are very welcome and encouraging!


End file.
